Dhana Nanda | |
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![]() Dhana Nanda's empire | |
King of Magadha | |
Reign | c. 329 BC – 321 BC |
Predecessor | Kaivarta |
Successor | Chandragupta Maurya (as Mauryan emperor) |
Died | c. 321 BC |
Dynasty | Nanda |
Father | Mahapadma Nanda |
Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), according to the Buddhist text Mahabodhivamsa, was the last Nanda king of Magadha. He was the youngest son of Mahapadma Nanda.
Chandragupta Maurya raised an army that eventually conquered the Nanda capital Pataliputra and defeated him. This defeat marked the fall of the Nanda Empire and the birth of the Maurya Empire.
The Jain tradition presents a similar legend about the last Nanda king, although it simply calls the king "Nanda", and states that the king was allowed to leave his capital alive after being defeated. The Puranas give a different account, describing the last Nanda king as one of eight sons of the dynasty's founder, whom they call Mahapadma. The Greco-Roman accounts name Alexander's contemporary ruler in India as Agrammes or Xandrames, whom modern historians identify as the last Nanda king. According to these accounts, Alexander's soldiers mutinied when faced with the prospect of a war with this king's powerful army.
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